Are “The Networks” trying to kill Hulu?

I love Hulu. Hulu solved a long standing issue I had where I felt that I was entitled to watch shows on my computer, wherever I was, and without needing to either sit in front of a TV. Before Hulu I was running a disturbingly complicated setup at work in which I was abusing the immense bandwidth offered to employees of hosting companies to grab a show I wanted to watch, encode it, and blast it to an IP I owned via an Orb server. It only sort of worked, and there was the whole breaking the law and getting caught by my employer that loomed over me as potential risks to the setup.

Hulu, however, saved me from my errant ways by making it simple for me to make a list of shows I wanted to watch and have them show up in a queue the day after the show aired. When Hulu Plus came out, I gladly shoved money at them to have access to the larger library and have been a loyal user since then. Today, however, the skies above me seem a little bit darker.

Today, I was forced to re-evaluate my relationship with Hulu. I have this to say to the company:

I don’t think its your fault, Hulu. I think you got mixed up in the wrong crowds, started letting people you ought not be spending so much time with influence you. I can’t watch you fall apart like this, Hulu. I’ve got to walk away before you drag me back down to that dark place I was at before you came along. The only way to save yourself is to stand up to all of the people in your life bossing you around. You need to look them square in the eye and tell them that you want a better life. Not just for you, but for us, Hulu. I can’t see you anymore until you stop letting USA, SYFY, and the other bullies in your life run you down.

For some inexplicable reason, many of the TV networks that had been previously releasing their shows digitally the day after the show aired have changed their tune. The reasons are unclear and each network seems to have a different policy. USA, for example, will make their shows available to stream 30 days after they air for the first time. Other networks, like SyFy, are now waiting until the broadcast season is over entirely before setting the episodes loose on the net. The first couple of episodes are made available online immediately though, probably just to create a craving for the season.

So, who ends up being the real victim here? Who ends up being completely powerless as the biggest reason people come hang out with you is taken away? Hulu. No new videos in my queue the next day means I have to wait until I get home to check it out on On Demand or hope that I remembered to set the TiVo. Could this have been the plan all along?

Keep in mind that Hulu is actually owned by these same networks that are currently strangling the service, and these networks are keeping the content from their own websites as well. Why, you ask? My suspicion is that this is a move to slow the increasing number of “cable cutters”, people who have figured out that it is way cheaper to watch TV over the internet then it is anywhere else. I mean, Hulu not only gives you a huge library of current shows, but its also available on just about everything now: iPhone, iPad, Android, Roku, TiVo, not to mention just a good old fashioned web browser. You get DVR style organization with the queue that, frankly, is better then most DVR interfaces out there, and even at its most expensive the service is only $8/month.

And without current, relevant content from these networks, why anyone choose Hulu Premium? Many of those older seasons are available on competing services, such as Netflix, who also offer a significantly larger movie libraries than Hulu.

If the networks were trying to kill Hulu and force their viewers back to the couch, they are certainly on the right path. Hulu has previously been an integral part of a Cable Cutters plan, unless they had decided that full on piracy was the best way to go. If this trend continues, it seems likely that Hulu would see a significant drop in viewers, ultimately leading to the group closing up shop.

Speak Your Mind

oscil8

On the face of it this is strange given that Hulu is up for sale and more restrictive rights reduce its attractiveness and hence its value. But if you go deeper this makes perfect sense – the networks are guaranteeing that Hulu’s buyer will get several years of content on the same basis, so they’re changing the rules BEFORE the sale so they’re not locked in to a level of rights

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6PT4SKLWICCAWVMVJCU4LDP3HQ Lionel L

What the networks will succeed in doing is driving a lot of folks who were willing to legally get their TV via the HULU service back to the torrents.

Anonymous

At the rate the networks are mucking it up, no one will be interested in buying Hulu.

assan

I disagree that they are on the “right track” to get everyone back to the couch. The problem is that all the idiots at the networks have forgotten why they started Hulu in the first place and that was to curb piracy of their shows. So they eagerly threw their shows at Hulu as quick as they could. And it worked wonders. Now that Hulu is a success they think that the audience they have been catering to has somehow forgotten how to use torrents? I don’t think so. If they want to kill Hulu then great, have at it. But then we’ll know who’s responsible when they’re on news shows and blogs whining about piracy.